Sheldon Jackson Museum is an Alaska State Museum located at 104 College Drive – a short walk from downtown. Constructed in 1897, it was the first concrete building in Alaska and it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. Artifacts on exhibit include kayaks from the Inupiaq communities ...
Sitka History Museum in Harrigan Centennial Hall, acclaimed as Sitka’s hidden cultural treasure, is a good “first stop” for travelers. After a brief visit, visitors leave the museum with an understanding of Sitka’s important place in Alaska’s...
Every summer, Sitka becomes the musical hub of Alaska as musicians, students and enthusiasts flock in to enjoy virtuosic concerts and masterclasses. This year, jazz will be at the forefront August 24-31 during the third annual Sitka Jazz...
The 113-acre Sitka National Historical Park is Alaska’s oldest federally recognized cultural site, a favorite for locals and visitors alike. The park is at 106 Metlakatla Street; the Russian Bishop’s House, also part of the National Park...
Sitka’s Alaska State Park sites offer recreation along with information and experiences related to Sitka’s history, on and off the road system. Baranof Castle Hill State Historic Site is located downtown, on a hill where Russia on Oct. 18, 1867,...
Sitka Music Festival is Alaska’s premiere classical music event, with some of the finest musicians from around the world here for a month of concerts and other events. This year, the festival runs from June 3 through June 29, with formal evening...
The New Archangel Dancers highlight Sitka’s cultural past going back to the 1800s, performing traditional folk dances from Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. The all-female volunteer troupe recruits and rehearses all year round for its summer...
For those hoping to experience Tlingit Native culture while visiting Sitka, the Naa Kahidi dancers perform several times each week during the summer in the iconic Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi community house next to the Pioneers Home on Katlian...
Alaska Native Brotherhood, founded in 1912 by Alaskan Native men, and the Alaska Native Sisterhood, established in 1915, are nonprofit organizations formed to address discrimination and promote Native solidarity and equal rights. In addition to...
Sitka Fine Arts Camp is marking its 52nd year as an organization offering arts education and experiences in Sitka to kids from around the United States. Last summer, students came from 40 Alaskan communities, 22 states,...
At the northern end of Sitka’s road network, Starrigavan Bay and its surroundings provide outdoors opportunities including hiking, wildlife viewing, and camping. For casual hikers, the Mosquito Cove trail – situated in the Starrigavan campground...
St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 611 Lincoln Street, had its beginning in 1895 when Peter Trimble Rose was named to be the first bishop for Alaska and he chose Sitka as the “See City” of Alaska. The first Episcopal service was held at the...
St. Michael’s Cathedral has been the center of attention in Sitka since it was built in the middle of the downtown street in the 1840s. The Russian Orthodox church, with its onion dome, bells and spire topped by a gold Russian cross outside, its...
Sitka Lutheran Church was founded in May 1840 in New Archangel, Russian Alaska. Russian-American Company Governor Arvid Adolph Etholen, a Swede-Finn Lutheran, had returned to New Archangel that year on board the Nikolai with a party of...
St. Gregory’s Catholic Church is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in Alaska. Shortly after the 1867 transfer of Russian claims to Alaska were transferred to the United States, a petition with 120 names was sent to the Bishop of Vancouver...
Beginning in the 1870s, the Presbyterian Church had a strong influence on Sitka, shaped by missionaries and educators. Missionaries John Brady and Fannie Kellogg opened a Presbyterian school in April 1878. It closed in November but on April 5,...
The University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka campus, located on Japonski Island, has been a resource for Sitka since 1962, when it was first launched as Sitka Community College. In recent years, the regional university system has become known for...
With gravestones dating back to the Russian-American era in the 1800s and on through today, Sitka’s cemeteries document the community’s history. Sitka National Cemetery, located on a hillside off Sawmill Creek Road, was the first national...
The Sitka Pioneer Home, a state assisted-living facility at 120 Katlian Street, is the oldest of the state’s six homes. It began as a log barracks built by the Russians and used as quarters for the U.S. Marines stationed here in 1879. When the...
Marked by its signature 100-foot-high steel pylons, the O’Connell Bridge has connected Sitka to Japonski Island since 1972. The 1,255-foot-long span connecting downtown Sitka and Japonski Island was the only vehicular cable-stayed bridge in the...